Jane Anderson

Strategic Communications Expert -

Profile

About Jane Anderson
I’m Jane Anderson, I’m a Strategic Communications Expert. My mission is to help talented female consultants and advisors to elevate their influence and grow their businesses..

It was June 2007 and I was sitting at my mother’s dining table. I had just moved back to Brisbane after a divorce and had to start my life over. I was at the 6-week mark of unemployment and my mother put her hand on my shoulder and said “I don’t know what you’re doing but it’s not working. I think you’d better have a chat to Centrelink”.

I was so frustrated. It wasn’t that I was too proud to join the dole queue but I thought “this isn’t fair. I said to mother “I have so much experience, great referees and study under my belt, I mustn’t be selling myself well.”

She then asked me “how can you show them you’re exceptional?”

So I sat down and created my vision of my ideal job. I drew my workspace, designed my ideal day, projects and the type of people I would be working with. I then decided I needed to find out where that company was.

I researched and found 5 companies who I thought I’d be a good fit for.

I created my collateral including my resume, my pitch, my presentation and managed to get a meeting with the first one on my list. After meeting with them they said that they liked what I had to say but they didn’t have anything for me at the time.

Two weeks later I got a call to say the person on the job resigned and it was mine if I wanted it. It was my dream job and I got to do all the wonderful work that I wanted to do.

Nowadays I help Consultants, Thought Leaders, CEO’s, Leaders and Entrepreneurs to be ‘Exceptional’. I play at the intersections of uniqueness and continuous improvement, helping people to be both different and to be better so they are both uncopyable and irreplaceable.

Being an early adopter and innovator, I’ve made all the mistakes. I’m the one trying new ways of doing business to stand out from the crowd but in a way that isn’t about selfies, but more about service and helping people achieve their goals. People buy from people. And they buy from people who they know, like and trust.

After working with some of Australia’s most recognised brands since I was 14 years old, I have learnt that we are our own brand. Dr Graeme Codrington, futurist quoted in Inc Magazine, identified that the future of work is about the ability to brand ourselves effectively so we can communicate who we are and attract opportunities to us.

The challenge is we have this thing in Australia called the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’, where it’s not cool to stand out. So how can you stand out without being criticised and told to ‘pull your head in?”.

I’m best known for my ability to bring out the best in people in a pragmatic, resourceful and authentically inspiring way. As a result, I’ve won more than 25 marketing, sales and communication awards. I’ve also been featured on numerous television shows, newspapers and magazines and am in the Top 1% of viewed profiles on LinkedIn. I’ve been voted in the top 3 branding experts in the world and recognised by the Queensland Government in the Queensland Voices, Women in Business Program.

I spent a large part of my career leading sales teams and in leadership development in retailing and government. I have coached CEO’s, business leaders and entrepreneurs to connect and inspire their teams and customers through online and face to face experiences. I became a manager at 20 when my oldest team member was 70 years old and the youngest was 40. I’ve experienced the challenges of leading and engaging a team to achieve outstanding results.

I have worked with over 100,000 people with their Personal and Business Brands. I’ve been featured in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, BBC Online, Today Tonight, Mornings on Channel 9, Management Today & Marie Claire. I have written nine books on how to brand, market and sell yourself effectively.

I have delivered programs for a broad range of clients including Telstra, Virgin Australia, Lego, IKEA, Sunsuper, Origin, Rio Tinto, Australian Medical Association, AIA Insurance, TUH, Super Retail Group, Dominos, Conoco Phillips, Xstrata, QGC, Origin Energy, IP Australia, Griffith Uni, International Rice Research Institute, Latrobe Instiute of Moelcular Science, RDNS, Dept of Defence, QLD Transport, CITEC, AusAid, Stanwell, QUT, Gold Coast City Council, TAFE.

As a keynote speaker, people say I’m captivating and inspiring. I have a natural ability to connect with any audience, meet them where they are and take them to to a place where they can see that exceptionality is really a possibility for them at both work and home.

I believe life is too short to do work that does not make a difference. So I do work I like, with people I like, in a way that I think can get results. I need to know that I can truly add value to what you want to achieve. If not, I’ll recommend someone else.